Catalytic converter

ABSTRACT

A catalytic converter for removing noxious pollutants from an exhaust gas stream having a conversion chamber mounted therein between its inlet and outlet. The conversion chamber extends diagonally across the converter and is provided with a pair of opposed faces having openings therein for gas passage therethrough. One end of said chamber is fixedly connected to said converter and the opposite end of said chamber is slidably connected thereto whereby said chamber is free to expand and contract in response to temperature changes.

United States Patent 11 1 Scheitlin et al. I

[ 1 CATALYTIC CONVERTER [75] Inventors: George E. Scheitlin; Richard F.

Little, both of Columbus, Ind.

[73] Assigneez' Arvin Industries, Inc., Columbus,

Ind.

22 Filed: Nov. 16, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 307,097

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 141,625, May 10,

1 1971, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 23/288 F, 60/299 [51] Int. Cl. F0ln 3/14, BOlj 9/04 [58] Field of Search 23/288 F; 60/299; 423/213,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS' 1/1957 Houdry ..23/288F 5/1958 Houdry 23/2881 I 1 111,1 3,801,287 45 Apr. 2, 1974 3,083,083 Boysen 23/288 F 3,090,677 5/1963 Scheitlin et a1. 23/288 F 3,149,925 9/1964 Scheitlin 23/288 F 3,166,382 l/1965 Purse et al.. 23/288 F 3,180,712 4/1965 Hamblin 23/288 F 3,223,491 12/1965 Maillie et a1. 23/288 F 3,434,806 3/1969 DeRycke et a1 23/288 F Primary Examiner-Barry S. Richman Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Trask, Jenkins & Hanley [57] ABSTRACT A catalytic converter for removing noxious pollutants from an exhaust gas stream having a conversion chamber mounted therein between its inlet and outlet. The

conversion chamber extends diagonally across, the

converter and is provided with a pair of opposed faces having openings therein for gas passage therethrough. One end of said chamber is fixedly connected to said converter and the opposite end of said chamber is slidably connected thereto whereby said chamber is free to expand and contract in response to temperature changes. 1

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAFR 2 I974 smut;

.TTORNEYS' NW AILII "v $8 flmm PATENTEDAFR 21.914 "3,801,287

SHfH 2 BF 3 I'NVENTORS GEORGE E. SCHEITLIN RICHARD F. LITTLE 7311 d n M 1 AT TOR N EYS v l CATALYTIC CONVERTER This is a continuation-in-part application of our copending application Ser. No. l4l,625, filed May 10, 1971, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION pand and contract without warping and without losingany of the catalytic material therein, and to such a converter structure which can be simply and easily manufactured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance-with one form of the invention, there is provided an elongated outer shell closed at its ends by a pair of end caps. An inlet conduit projects through one of said end caps, and an outlet conduit projects through the other end cap. Each of said conduits is supported within the shell by a baffle plate which forms with said shell and the adjacent end cap a sound attenuating chamber.

A conversion chamber adapted to hold a catalytic material is mounted in said shell between the inlet and outlet conduits. Said chamber extends diagonally across said shell and is provided with perforated top and bottom walls for the passage of the exhaust gases therethrough. One end of the chamber is fixedly connected to said shell and the opposite end thereof is slidably carried on a bracket mounted in said shell whereby said chamber is free to expand and contract in response to temperature changes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

In such drawings;

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the medial axis of a catalytic converter embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section similar to FIG. 1 but showing a modified form thereof; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 66 ,of FIG. 5.

line 22 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT strength and economy of space, are in the form of concentric closed curves, an ellipse as shown. The ends of the shell side walls 10 and 12 abut each other and are rigidly connected, as by common roll seams 18, to a pair of end caps closing the opposed ends of the shell.

A pair of baffle plates22 are mounted within the shell slightly inwardly from the end caps 20. Each of said baffle plates is provided with a shouldered aperature 24 disposed in axial alignment with ashouldered aperature 26 formed in each of the end caps 20. The aligned openings 24 and 26 support an inlet conduit 28 at one end of the converter, and the aligned openings 24 and 26 at the opposite end of the converter support an outlet conduit 30. Each of the baffle plates 22 is provided with a plurality of louvered openings 31. The inlet and outlet conduits 28 and 30 terminate inwardly of the baffle plates 22 whereby the spacesbetween said baffle plates and their adjacent end caps 20 form a pair of sound attenuating chambers 32 at the opposite ends of the converter; said chambers being acoustically coupled to the gas stream through the baffle plate open ings 31,, or any other convenient type of resonator throat-forming members.

A conversion chamber 33 is mounted within the converter in spaced relation to the baffle plates 22. The conversion chamber is adaptedto hold a catalytic ma.- terial for removing noxious pollutants from the exhaust gas stream as it passes through the'converter from the inlet conduit 28 to the outlet conduit 30.

As shown, the chamber 33 is formed by an elongated top wall 37 and a bottom wall 38 interconnected bya pair of imperforate side walls 39. Said top and bottom walls are each provided with longitudinally extending rows of slots or louvered openings 40 to permit gas passage through the chamber. The forward end of the chamber, the end adjacent the inlet 28, is closed by an end plate 42 comprising an imperforate end wall 44 extending across the chamber and integral with a forwardly directed peripheral flange 45. The opposite end of the chamber is enclosed by an end plate 46 comprising an imperforate end wall 47 integrally connected to a rearwardly projecting peripheral flange 48. Conveniently, an apertured brace 49also,- extends across the chamber for rigidiz ing said-chamber against warping.

wall 10, which arcuate cross-section progressively flattens out toward the end adjacent theinlet conduit 28 into coplanarity. Conversely, the bottom wall end adjacent the inlet 28 has an arcuate cross-section, and said bottom wall progressively flattens out into coplanarity at its end adjacent the outlet 30. With the chamber extending diagonally across the converter, this opposed configuration of the top and bottom chamber walls provides an inlet and outlet respectively for the chamberwhich ensures a uniform distribution of the gas flow through the chamber for maximum removal of the pollutants in the gas stream.

The .forward end of the chamber 33 is fixedly con nected to the converter by the end plate 42. To this end, the flange 45 at the sides and bottom of the chamber projects beyond the front end of the chamber and is bent laterally outwardly and forwardly, as at 50, at the sides of the chamber and downwardly and forwardly as at 51, at the bottom of the chamber. The outwardly and forwardly bent flange stretches are curved to abut the adjacent portions of the shell side wall and'are fixedly connected thereto. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, the stretches 50 prevent gas flow along the sides of the chamber.

The rearward end of the chamber 33 adjacent the outlet 30 is slidably interconnected to the converter to permit the chamber to expand and contract with respect to the converter shell. The chamber is so interconnected to the converter shell by a bracket 55 having an end wall 56 integrally connected to a rearwardly directed peripheral flange 57 having a shape corresponding to thecross-sectional shape of the rear end of the chamber 33. The flange 57 is spaced slightly inwardly from the adjacent portions of the shell side wall 10, but along itsitop and side stretches adjacent its rearward edge, it is provided with an outwardly offset collar 60 which abuts and is fixedly connected to the adjacent portions of the shell side wall 10. The flange 48 on end platev 46 projects rearwardly from chamber 33 and is bent upwardly and rearwardly, as at 62, at the top of the converter andlaterally outwardly and rearwardly, as at 63, at the sides of the chamber. The offset top and side stretches 62 and 6310f flange 46, as well as its bottom stretch, are slidably received over the bracket flange 57 forthus slidably hanging the rear end of chamber 33 on the bracket 55. I i

the end plate wall 47 disposed in spaced relationship to the bracket wall 56. In order to reduce gas leakage around the slip fit between the bracket 55 and end plate 46, the space between the end walls 47 and 56 is tilled with a compressible thermal insulation 65. Conveniently, a thermal insulation 66 may also be placedin the spaces between the chamber side walls 39 and the adjacent portions of the shell side wall 10.

' In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the chamber 33 is also slidably supported on a plurality of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced, wedgeshaped braces 68 interposed between the chamber bottoniwall '38 and the lower portion of the shell side wall 10. Each of said braces comprises a pair of V- shaped walls 70 having their apex'in sliding engagement with the chamber bottom'wall 38 between a pair of adjacent rows of the louvered openings 40. The

' The chamber 33 is supported on the bracket 55 with lower ends of the walls 70 terminate in laterally projecting fingers 71 rigidly secured to the shell side wall 10. Because of the tilted mounting of the chamber, the brace walls 70 gradually increase in depth from their ends adjacent the inlet 28 to theirends disposed adja cent the outlet 30. Conveniently, pluralities of openings 72 are formed in the brace walls 70 to help uniformly distribute the gas flow out of the chamber.

As shown in FIG. 3, the converter is rigidized by forming the metal at the edges of chamber side walls 3.9 and top and bottom walls 37 and 38 into beads 73 projecting obliquely outwardly from the chamber. Said beads are slidably received in inwardly open grooves 75 formed in shell side wall and extending the length thereof. I V

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 differs from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 4 only in that both ends of the conversion chamber 33' are slidably interconnected to the shell. Thus, in such embodimeht the shell walls 10 and 12, which have a layer of insulation 15' interposed'therebetween, are closed at their ends by end caps 20'. The inlet conduit 28' and outlet conduit 30'. are supported at the opposite ends of the shell in said end caps and the baffle plate 22'.

The chamber 33' is formed by top and bottom walls 37 and 38' having openings 40' therein and interconnected by a pair of imperforate side walls 39. The forward end of the chamber is closed by an end plate 42 comprising an imperforate end wall 44' extending across the chamber and integral with a forwardly directed peripheral flange 45'. The rearward chamber end is closed by an end plate 46comprising an imper' forate end wall 47 integrally connected to a rearwardly projecting peripheral flange 48'.

The chamber is slidably connectedat'its rearward end to the shell by the same structure as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, a bracket 55' is mounted on the shell 10'. Said bracket-has a rearwardly directed peripheral flange 57 provided with a shape corresponding to the shape of the rear end of chamber 33'. The flange 57 is-spaced slightly inwardly from the adjacent portions of the shell wall 10, but along its top andside stretches, it has an outwardly offset collar 60 fixedly connected to the shell wall 10'. Flange 48' on end plate 46', rearwardly of chamber 33, is offset along its upper stretch, as at 62', and along its side stretches, as at 63'. The offset stretches 62' and 63 as well as the bottom stretch of flange 46', are slidably received over the bracket flange 57'.

The foward end of chamber33 is slidably interconnected to the shell in the same manner as the rearward chamber end. Thus, the forward chamber end is interconnected to a bracket having a forwardly projecting peripheral flange 157. Flange 157 is spaced slightly inwardly from the adjacent portions of shell wall 10,

but along its bottom and side stretches, it has an outwardly offset collar USU fixedly connected to the side wall 10'. Flange 45' on 'end plate 42', forwardly of chamber 33', is offset along its bottom stretch, as at 162, and along its side stretches, as at 163. The offset stretches I62 and 163, as well as the top stretch of flange 45' are slidably received over the bracket flange 157. Thus, as will be apparent, the bracket 155 and end plate 42' assembly is merely an inverted and reverse position version of the bracket 55' and end plate 7 46' assembly.

As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the spaces between the end plates 46 and 42 and theirassociated brackets 55 and 155 can be tilled with the compressible insulation 65.

We claim: 1. In a catalytic converter for removing noxious pollutants from an exhaust gas stream, an elongated shell, end caps closing the ends of said shell, gas inlet and outlet conduits in open communication with the interior of said shell adjacent its opposed ends, a conversion chamber mounted in said shell and adapted to hold catalytic material for removing noxious pollutants from exhaust gases, said chamber extending diagonally across said shell, said chamber having a pair of opposed perforate walls for the passage of gas through said chamber from the inlet conduit to the outlet conduit, a pair of end plates closing the ends of said chamber, a pair of brackets fixedly connected to said shell at the opposite ends of said chamber and having offsets formed therein, said end plates being mounted on the offsets on said brackets with at least one of said end plates being slidably mounted on one of said offsets to permit said chamber to longitudinally expand and contract with respect to said shell, said brackets projecting outwardly from said chamber into engagement with said shell to prevent gas flow around said chamber.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that said chamber is slidably supported on a plurality of braces mounted in said shell.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that a compressible insulation is interposed between said at least one slidably mounted end plate and said bracket associated therewith.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said brackets comprises an end wall connected to a peripheral flange spaced inwardly from the shell, and an outwardly offset collar is formed'on said peripheral flange at its end remote from said end wall and fixedly connected to said shell, and said at least one slidably mounted end plate is slidably received over said flange. 

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that said chamber is slidably supported on a plurality of braces mounted in said shell.
 3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that a compressible insulation is interposed between said at least one slidably mounted end plate and said bracket associated therewith.
 4. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said brackets comprises an end wall connected to a peripheral flange spaced inwardly from the shell, and an outwardly offset collar is formed on said peripheral flange at its end remote from said end wall and fixedly connected to said shell, and said at least one slidably mounted end plate is slidably received over said flange. 